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Our correspondent AH was at the recently held Afrobeats Music Festival in London and sat down to write this report on what she witnessed. Enjoy reading her narration of what happened. It’s better late than never. It’s very informative….

The long-awaited, and well-promoted Afrobeats Music Festival fell on the night of St Judes storm. When I first arrived, I worried that ticket-holders would stay at home, rather than risking getting caught in torrential rain or gale force winds. As I dropped my jacket at the cloakroom, even the clerk there had doubts it would be a full house. But since R2bees were gracing London with their presence, I had a feeling that UK Afrobeats lovers would be out in force, rain or shine, hurricane or not.

The show finally kicked off around 8pm, DJ Abrantee braced the stage in his red tartan suit and his bubbly personality, making jokes about the fact we all needed to keep attending these events to keep him in a job! Good thing he’s good at what he does then 😉 Project G Dance group were first up, wowing us with their incredibly synchronized moves and co-ordinated freestyle solos to both favourite Afrobeats tunes, such as Dizzy ft. Atumpan – Jekin Jekin and world famous hits such as Drake’s ‘Started From The Bottom’. They were phenomenal. These girls certainly know how to cut shapes and you can see that for yourself here:

Although the event kicked off later than scheduled, the great thing was that we didn’t have to wait a long time between acts. This also meant that most artists left the audience wanting more so it was quite clever in that sense…Next up was the winner of DJ Abrantee’s search for the next Afrobeats superstar competition: (Yuhboy) Youngs. I trust DJ Abrantee’s judgement, championing the likes of Atumpan and Moelogo so it was unsurprising when I found myself singing along towards the end of the song. Feel like he has potential although I wouldn’t say he brings anything new to the scene.

Vibe Squad were up next….except it wasn’t the boys I know on stage singing and dancing to ‘Akola kiti kiti’….they had tricked us, with who I believe, were the dancers from the video. They then went on to perform the melodic ‘Come Over’ and a new song, that got everyone’s heads bopping. It’s still Afropop but it has a club vibe to it. Fingers crossed they will be dropping it soon! These guys will go far if they carry on the way they are going.

Weray Ent, followed, opening with their latest banger ‘Hammer’, a track I haven’t been able to stop playing since the video was released. They also performed the popular ‘Ching Chang Wallah’, and ‘Masquerade’ alongside Vibe Squad. Kwamz and Flava were up next, performing the likes of ‘Alkayida’ and ‘I Love My Life’.

The night was in full swing, by this point and almost everyone was dancing, or at least nodding along to the beat. To reflect the reality on the ground in Ghana I suppose, the backing dancers were dancing far less azonto than usual, making the controversially alkayida dance a priority. I still wish they would change the name somehow! A performance from Mista Silva followed. With back-up singers in tow, his first song was probably a highlight of the night. I had no idea he could sing and rap like that. Hats off to him! ‘Now What’s Up’ also had the majority people around me singing and dancing along.

Festival Fun

FTFRESHMUSIC followed. I wasn’t familiar with this group so I wasn’t too surprised when a man dressed in yellow traditional dress came to the stage playing a small drum. This was soon interrupted with two rappers, who were undeniably proud of their heritage, with people on stage waving Sierra Leone flags. Other artists to take the stage before the headliner included Moelogo performing ‘Mary J’, ‘Give them what they want’ and the exclusive live band version of ‘Mo Ti Gbe De’.

Dammy Krane was up next, performing Afrobeats bangers such as the hit ‘My Dear’ and the charismatic May7en dressed beautifully in a silver lace jumpsuit that showed off her curvaceous figure singing the new banger ‘Bubugaga’ (alongside Moelogo) and the catchy ‘Hey Mr’, with Tiwa Savage as an on-stage guest singing her heart out. Other than the main headliner, I was also very much looking forward to seeing Awilo Longomba, mainly because I absolutely adore ‘Carolina’. He didn’t disappoint, he had a lot of energy! If only I could wind my waist like his dancers….

16 year-old Zafi B, DJ Abrantee’s latest star-in-the-making, was last on before R2bees, performing her new single, ‘Number 1’. She is extremely talented and I have to say that I am a fan. She sang a little of the song in a’cappella which really let her voice shine through. Unfortunately Atumpan could not make the show, which was a shame cos we were waiting for him to show us ‘the Thing’. As far as I am aware though, nothing was mentioned about this on the night which I feel was a little unprofessional, it’s good to keep your audience in the loop.

Finally, the moment I think most of us were waiting for, it was time for R2Bees. Opening with ‘Agyeiii’ and immediately engaging the crowd, not only did they perform the classics including ‘Walaahi (Life)’, ‘Sweat’, ‘Solo’, ‘Slow down’ and the love song ‘Odo’, Mugeez Mugeez and Paedae they also treated us to a new song. Watch this space! The response from the audience was wild, as I looked around, I could see everyone with huge grins on their faces, taking in the moment and singing along. The award-winning duo certainly delivered.

All in all then, I would say, a successful event. Despite the storm, Afrobeats lovers from London and the vicinity battled the extreme weather, some in their Ankara and Kente for a night of great music, dancing and good vibes. The live band that accompanied the majority of the acts also made a huge difference – I’m not a big fan of when artists just sing over a track. The only thing I would say is that there were almost too many artists. It was a fantastic opportunity for many rising stars to showcase their talent but I felt that sometimes the sets were too short. For example, Weray Ent only performed part of their new song ‘Hammer’, which I felt was a shame since it is such a great song.

It was the first Afrobeat Sundays event I have been to but I dare say it exceeded my expectations. DJ Abrantee has already begun planning next year’s festival, which is set to be bigger and better. As the UK Afrobeats scene grows and artists like P-Square, Fuse ODG and Iyanya continue to make an international name for themselves, the future is bright and the future is Africa’s. Africa, please stand up.